In a telephone call Monday between Russia's Defense Minister General Sergei Shoigu and the U.S. Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel, Shoigu described the activity of U.S. and NATO troops near Russia's border as "unprecedented." According to the official Russian version of the call, his American counterpart assured him the alliance did not have "provocative or expansionist" intentions -- and that Russia should know this. But it hardly seems to matter how often NATO makes these assurances. The Kremlin will never trust them. Fear of the Western military alliance's steady march east is deep-rooted. It strikes at the very heart of Russia's national sense of security, a relic of Cold War enmity which has seeped down to post-Soviet generations.

"No such pledge was made, and no evidence to back up

OPTIONS:
- American's claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."
- Chuck Hagel's claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."
- Cold War's claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."
- Crimea's claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."
- Kremlin's claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."
- NATO's claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."
- Putin's claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."
- Russia's claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."
- Russian's claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."
- Sergei Shoigu's claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."
- Shoigu's claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."
- U.S.'s claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."
- Western's claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."
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Russia's claims has ever been produced," the alliance wrote in an April fact sheet entitled "Russia's accusations -- setting the record straight."


It's no surprise that Olympic heroes the Brownlee brothers have been announced in the England squad for this summer's Commonwealth Games. The Yorkshire-born and bred brothers will be going for gold in the triathlon - with their main competition one another. But while they are both keen to add Commonwealth champion to their list of achievements, they are also hoping their sportsmanship can encourage others to get active. Fun competition: The Brownlee brothers recommend families hold their own Commonwealth Games in their gardens this summer Jonny, 24, told MailOnline: 'I remember getting up early to watch the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and that really inspired me. I got up about 1am so I could watch the triathlon live and it made me really want to get out there and train.

In turn, he inspired younger brother

OPTIONS:
- Brownlee to strive to be the best.
- Commonwealth to strive to be the best.
- Commonwealth Games to strive to be the best.
- England to strive to be the best.
- Jonny to strive to be the best.
- MailOnline to strive to be the best.
- Olympic to strive to be the best.
- Sydney Olympics to strive to be the best.
- Yorkshire to strive to be the best.
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Jonny to strive to be the best.


By Anthony Hay for MailOnline Follow @@Anthony_Hay Juventus are starting to lose patience in the race to sign Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski and are instead stepping up their efforts to sign Bayern Munich's Xherdan Shaqiri, according to Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport. The Serie A giants are keen on signing Podolski on loan with a view to a permanent deal but have identified Shaqiri as another potential target if they cannot seal a deal for the Arsenal man. Shaqiri remains behind the likes of Mario Gotze and Thomas Muller in Bayern Munich's pecking order which could make the Swiss international available to seal a switch away from the Allianz Arena before the transfer window shuts next Monday.

Changing tact: Juventus could switch their attention away from Lukas Podolski to

OPTIONS:
- Allianz Arena
- Anthony Hay
- Anthony_Hay
- Arsenal
- Barcelona
- Bayern Munich
- Corriere dello Sport
- Elche
- Falcao
- Italian
- Javier Hernandez
- Juventus
- La Liga
- Lionel Messi
- Lukas Podolski
- MailOnline
- Mario Gotze
- Napoli
- Podolski
- Rafa Benitez
- Sandro
- Serie A
- Shaqiri
- Swiss
- Thomas Muller
- Tottenham
- Xherdan Shaqiri
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Shaqiri